The present invention relates generally to a bulk loading apparatus for storing and conveying stick-like articles, which includes a storage bin associated with a conveyor for moving articles from the storage bin to a delivery point. More particularly, the present invention relates to a railroad right of way maintenance device providing a bulk spike loading system which uses an inclined trough and auger assembly to move railroad spikes or other fasteners from a bulk storage bin to a desired location for loading the spikes into a spiker.
Among various types of railway maintenance equipment, automatic spikers are known and used for driving railroad spikes into railroad ties for securing the rail to the tie plates and tie plates to the ties. The spiker is typically mounted on a spiking machine capable of traveling over railroad tracks and may be self propelled or towable. A suitable example of such a spiker is disclosed in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,840 which is incorporated by reference. During operation of typical spikers, workers fill kegs with spikes held in a separate car, or wagon, and load the filled kegs onto the spiking machine. A first worker then removes spikes from the keg, as needed, and places them in the spiker magazine. A second worker then operates the aiming and driving mechanism of the spiker to drive the spike where desired.
This conventional system requires a large amount of manual labor to load the kegs with spikes and then load the kegs onto the spiking machine. In addition, manually reaching into the kegs to get the spikes wastes further time. Furthermore, space is limited on the spiking machine, so that only a few kegs can be carried on the spiking machine at one time. This limits the production capacity of the spiking machine.
Thus, a main object of the present invention is to provide an improved bulk loader that efficiently stores and conveys relatively large quantities of spikes or other rail fastening articles, such as lag screws or clips, to a desired location for further operations.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved bulk loader for storing and conveying fastening articles that reduces the handling time for the particular fastening article.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved bulk loader that prevents jamming of the conveyed articles.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved removable bulk loader that provides more space for storing articles on a conventional spiking machine, while eliminating the need for ancillary equipment such as separate storage wagons.